Automated recording of information from distributed locations and transmittal of the recorded information to a central repository is becoming increasingly important in tracking delivery of goods and services, as well as location of inventory in retail, warehouse, and other distributed storage locations. The capability to locate specific items of inventory or verify delivery of specific items to a specific location in near real time can provide significant competitive advantage to a service enterprise. Progress has been made in recent years to achieve these goals.
For example, commercial parcel delivery services originally employed handwritten methods for recording receipt of a parcel from a customer, delivery of the parcel through a number of intermediate handlers at various geographic locations, and ultimately acceptance of the parcel by the addressee. Tracking of the parcel to locate a misdelivered or undelivered parcel was costly, time consuming, and error prone, requiring manual review of handwritten, often illegible records of each intermediate handler. The advent of coding each parcel with an individualized bar code or other indicia, scanning the bar code at each intermediate handler with a light pen, and uploading the bar code information to a networked computer system reduced the cost, time, and errors associated with parcel tracking. Machine readable indicia such as bar codes affixed to the parcels on adhesive labels are subject to soiling and handling damage, however, which can prevent accurate scanning of the bar code by the light pen and result in read errors which reduce efficiency of the system.
Other improvements such as electronic pads have been introduced to verify acceptance of the parcel by the addressee. With these devices, when the addressee signs for the parcel, a plot of their signature is generated due to the impression made by the addressee on the electronic pad. The signature, in electronic format, can be uploaded to the networked computer system to provide additional information for verification purposes. Such pads, however, are prone to damage, being subjected to repetitive, irregular contact forces. Additionally, parcel delivery persons are required to employ both light pens and electronic pads to support the system.